In-home 'underground' cooking that whets the appetite, fills the cup and delights the soul.

My Story

My name is Leila, I am a follower of Jesus, wife, mother of two precious little boys, a passionate cook and people lover. Initially while we lived in Sydney I developed 'tablenosh' as a way I could open my home and gather all sorts of people around the table to eat and share life. A 'tablenosh' dinner was sort of like a dinner party open to the public...you had to book in and I could only seat 10 people.
I truly love sharing our table, and filling up our home with friends, family and strangers simply fills up my heart!
I am an experimental cook who is always learning. I don't have any formal training other than a cooking class or two, but enjoy learning right here in my kitchen.
Tablenosh has been a wonderful opportunity to see food bring all kinds of people together around the table. It has also been a great chance for me to grow my culinary skills.
Although at this stage now in Richmond, I am not really doing 'tablenosh' dinners like I did in Sydney we do our best to open our table and home to many and share fellowship around the table. I also continue to explore cooking ideas and concepts, particularly gluten free, local, paleo and toddler friendly :) !

What is Tablenosh?

Tablenosh has grown out of my desire to bring people together around food while growing my culinary skills. It was inspired by the 'underground' restaurant movement that is happening around the world.

My initial concept for 'tablenosh' was a group of people coming together around a table to enjoy an evening of good food and company in a humble and cozy setting. My vision being that 'tablenosh' would not only whet the appetite, but will truly delight the soul as one engages in community around the table.Although this blog initially focused on sharing the stories, menus and fun of 'tablenosh' dinner parties & events it has transitioned into the place where I continue to share my food journey, ideas, recipes, hopes, dreams and passions of food & people. It is certainly my hope the 'tablenosh' dinners will eventually reignite here in RVA - or possible a little underground morning side-porch cafe of some sort...I will keep you posted.

Tablenosh 'underground' Bakery

Occasionally I will cater a party or make a special cake, pie, or other. If this is something you are interested in please feel free to contact me.

Contact Information

Leila Gunning

tablenoshing@hotmail.com

Recent Posts

Sunday, October 10, 2010

If you are interested in making your own version of this cheesecake give it a go (here is my attempt at giving you the recipe I used, although I tend to eyeball things, so not quite sure about the measurements)! It is flexible so feel free to experiment...and the plain lemon with no blueberries is also good, especially along with fresh strawberries or raspberries.

I used my food processor to grind up the dry ingredients and then add the wet ones. Press into a springform pan, I put baking paper down first but you don't have to. Bake on 375F / 180C for about 10minutes.

Mix the cream cheese and ricotta until smooth, mix until creamy and then slowly mix in the lemon juice and zest. Finally add eggs one at a time and mix until smooth. Pour the filling into the base.

Blueberry Swirl3/4 cups frozen blueberries2 Tablespoons of sugar

Heat the blueberries (you could also use fresh ones) in a small pan with sugar until juicy and warm. Then uses a mixer to chop and mush the blueberries to make a compote. Dollop 4 blobs of blueberry mixture onto cheesecake filling and use a knife or skewers to swirl around.

Bake cheesecake at 160C/ 325F for about an hour and ten minutes or until set. Allow to cool and then chill, probably best if chilled overnight.

If you want to do a glaze you can just do a thin layer of whip cream or use sour cream. I blend the two add a bit of lemon juice and some confectionary/icing sugar. You can spread this on once the cheesecake is completely cooled and top with fresh blueberries and lemon zest for added decor! Enjoy...and if I forgot something don't hesitate to ask!